Biological control story #2 - Cabbage

Throwback: Wolf spider is the natural enemy (predator) of BPH. What about parasitoids? Aha! Have you guessed the pokemon yet? :P
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The answer is BEEDRILL!!! (Thumbs up for those who guess it right)

Ok, time for the real discussion. What are parasitoids?

Sorry imma plagarize wikipidea definition again :X (Their definition is good i mean...)

A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host.

Here is the life cycle:

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In Malaysia, parasitoids are still something new and not recognized much.

However, one of the earliest biocontrol in Malaysia is done by using parasitoids!

 Time for the story, ARE YOU READY.....? ACTION!

Here is the story:

Venue: 
Cameron Highland, Malaysia

Time:
1970s

Casts:
Farmers - the manipulated
Consumers - the aware
Government - the pest accomplice -.-
Cabbage - the victim
Pest - diamondback moth (DBM)
Parasitoids - Wasps (Diadegma semiclausem and Didromus Collaris)

 The victim: Poor cabbage

 The pest: DBM

 Hero 1: Didromus Collaris

 Hero 2: Diadegma semiclausem

So..... cabbage (a crucifer plant) is an exotic crop brought back from Europe and it is found to be grown well on Cameron Highland.

However............. the pest (DBM) came along -.-

Government custom quarantine wasn't really doing their responsibility

Since there was little ecological knowledge back then, the only approach is to use pesticide. With the government support, it became a widely used approach.

However, similar to the rice field case, the pest just came back stronger...

The DBM came back... like a wrecking ball

Not knowing what to do, the farmers increased the intensity of pesticide.

Not working? Let's become a bartender! COCKTAIL OF PESTICIDE

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It's still not working, they started to know they were screwed to the extent that cabbage have to be abandoned as choice of cultivated crop :(

Then, the hopes came in - the parasitoids! Brought back from New Zealand (Free of charge) by my professor Prof. Peter Ooi.

 Should be the other way round, whatever it is... It's a 12 hours flight, man!

However, they can't establish their population in the field, because? They are still spraying pesticide! They killed the hopes -.-

The situation persisted for some time, until...

Consumers started to aware of pesticide residue on the crops. They refuse to consume those pesticide food. Therefore, the farmers had to reduce the usage of pesticide. And guess what happen?

TADA! The hopes were back. The parastoids started to build up their population and showed their control ability on the pest (DBM).

This became one of the notable biocontrol story in Malaysia. There are actually more!

But I think talking about every single case will not be a good idea haha...

So, thanks to our heroes beedrill.

Uhm I mean Diadegma semiclausem and Didromus Collaris! 

This post shall end here. And I have no idea what to talk on next post yet... haha

Anyway, see you guys ;)